Kuranda Cableway

So how do you get out of the rainforest when you took a train up and you have no car?  Simple, you fly over the canopy of the rainforest on a cableway for 40 minutes!  I remember when they had a ride like this at Disneyland but they took it out...too many people making out I guess....Well the ride at Disneyland was only about 5 minutes long and not nearly as high.  This thing was awesome.  It was so neat to fly over the rainforest and with the cableway so quiet you could hear every sound in the forest...the insects, the animals, the water....it was amazing.  It also gives you some pretty unique vantage points to get shots.  The cableway flies you down into the Tjapukai Aborigini Village where we continued our adventure....

Kuranda Railway

The day after the Great Barrier Reef we went took a train ride on the historic Kuranda Railway which leaves from the Cairns train station and goes all the way up through the city and into the rainforest.  It truly is amazing to take a train through the rainforest...it goes all the places cars can't go and gives you sights of things you haven't ever seen before.  

We were so tired from the night before that we missed breakfast...so when we got to the last train stop at the Kuranda Village we grabbed breakfast.  Kara went shopping in the village while the boys and I took a walk through the jungle....it was awesome!  The boys and I saw a crocodile in the river and I had to keep telling the boys to stop throwing rocks in the water because everytime I heard a splash or other water related noise from them throwing the rocks I was convinced that a crocodile was coming to get us.  The most amazing part was when we stopped and just listened to the noises for about 5 minutes...the boys were asking me every 5 seconds, "What's that noise?"  

I cherish our "Boys Moments" so much....the moments where it's just me and my boys.  I remember how important my moments were with my Father, and I try to make those moments every day with my boys.  I love the shot of my son Kevin being a photographer's assistant by carrying my Manfrotto tripod for me.  He didn't last very long but it was very cute....I've named the shot, "Daddy's Little Helper."  Kara spent a ton of money and we all got poured on by a torrential downpour.....it was a perfect day.

Great Barrier Reef

The day after the rainforest we headed out on an all day excursion to the Great Barrier Reef.  Cairns is the best place to go if you want to see the Great Barrier Reef.  We took a 90-minute boat ride out to the reef where they set up a floating vessel that accommodated snorkeling, scuba diving, semi-submersible submarines, and helicopter rides.  The whole family went snorkeling which was just awesome.  

Kara and I decided to go down into the water for scuba diving while I decided to go up on a helicopter ride that was nothing short of amazing.  At one point I had to remind myself that I was flying a private helicopter over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia....just an awesome thing to experience sometime in your life.  

There was a photographer there with underwater equipment and shot with Nikon which I found to be a good choice of course!  I'll post the pictures of Kara kissing fish and the boys floating in the water next.  I hope you enjoy the shots below which were from the boat, and then from the helicopter ride.  If you've never flown a helicopter....just let me tell you it is an unforgettable experience that I loved.  I hope you enjoy!